


Times Square Can't Shine As Bright As You

by amami_mia



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), F/F, Fluff, Kaede loves her friends (tm), Pining, it could take place where ever really, kaede akamatsu owns a hello kitty piano its canon now, kind of NDRV3 spoilers, kind of a normal high school au??, rated T for 2 instances of swearing, theyre both lesbians harold
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 04:07:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13673949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amami_mia/pseuds/amami_mia
Summary: Maki and Kaede talk about college, memories, and old songs from the early 2000s.---------------------------------------------------------------------This was supposed to be finished by Maki's birthday, but that didn't exactly happen, now did it.If you squint, this is a songfic based off of Hey There Delilah.





	Times Square Can't Shine As Bright As You

The walls of Kaede’s room were yellow and white, gleaming in the sun, a perfect encapsulation of their owner. Photos were hung up precariously across the room, showcasing memory after memory. A rare splotch of pink was found in the curtains, which let only a bit of light pour in over the figure of a sleeping Kaede. Maki had seen many beautiful things in her life, but this triumphed all of them.

Visitations like this had gone on too long to be casual affairs, and both Maki and Kaede know this. However, Maki preferred not to dwell on the qualms sleeping in your totally-platonic buddy’s bed every night had and instead decided to focus on her totally-platonic buddy’s room. It was nice. In this golden temple, she had no need to worry about what she’d do after she grew too old for assassin work, or if her next mission would be her last. Everything she needed to care about was laying right beside her, an angel in a loose pink t-shirt that said: “Sorry fellas, I’m lesbian”. Maki fondly remembered the day when Kaede had excitedly texted her images of the shirt, laughing about how she didn’t even think the printing company would even print it.

Fond memories just like that filled this room. Maki didn’t need to look any further than the nearest string of photos to see that was true. Chaotically strung up across the walls were images from class field trips, vacations, beach days, birthdays, holidays, and everything in between. Kaede’s brilliant purple eyes stared back at her from every image, filled with the same encompassing warmth as the real deal. It was almost comforting, a sweet distraction from the reason she was here in Kaede Akamatsu’s bed.

From aside her, the woman of the hour herself stirred, barely awake. Tomorrow was a big day, but right now there was no urgency. The busy stuff could wait until later.

“Maki? You awake?” her voice echoed across the room.

“Yeah. You should go back to sleep. You’ll need it for tomorrow.” 

“Pschhh, it’s just a plane flight to music school. It isn’t some top-secret mission that’ll use up every last drop of my energy.” Kaede rolled out of the daisy-covered sheets, stretching and yawning.

“Well, what about settling into your dorm? It’ll take some time to do that.” Maki crossed her arms, perfectly complimenting her jokingly serious tone. She knew that an argument with Kaede could only ever end in one conclusion, but she’d be damned if she didn’t at least try.

“That’ll be easy. I’m leaving most of this stuff behind, anyways.” Maki could see Kaede glance at the ochre walls lined with images of the past sorrowfully. She knew that Kaede couldn’t pack all of the pictures of the wall, and Kaede knew that as well. The two of them sat on the covers of the bed and stared at memories made in silence.

“Maki, can you take care of the pictures?” Kaede’s voice cut through the silence like a flashlight in the dark. The sheets ruffled as her hands ran through them, nervously looking at anyone but her target of conversation. 

“They’re really important to me, after all, and I want someone I trust to make sure they’re okay. It’d be the end of the world if Kokichi somehow got his hands on them.” She cracked a smile as she rambled, and Maki’s heart immediately melted.

Being trusted startled Maki. She wasn’t used to this. She especially didn’t deserve to be trusted by Kaede Akamatsu, the definitive piano genius and the most beautiful girl she’d ever seen. This was a new frontier, one that scared her a little. She didn’t want to let Kaede down. She paused, took a breath, and spoke.

“Are you absolutely sure you want me to take care of them? What if I destroy them?” 

“I know you won’t.” Kaede paused and looked straight into Maki’s eyes, golden light streaming over her. Maki couldn’t help but be in awe at the sight in front of her. She didn’t deserve this. She really didn’t deserve this. However, it seemed like in this tiny pocket of sunshine and flowers that she could be anything Kaede wanted her to be, and if Kaede wanted her to be a reliable and trustworthy friend, then that is what she would be.

And if Kaede wanted her to be a little bit more than a friend, she’d be fine with that as well.

“Alright, I’ll take the photos and keep them safe.” Maki paused. “But you owe me one, alright?” she said, a slight grin on her face to tell Kaede that she wasn’t being too serious.

“Oooh, I can pay you right now with a special concert! Consider it on the house.” Kaede grinned and pulled Maki over to her keyboard in the corner of the room. Kaede didn’t look nearly as elegant as when she played a grand piano in a fancy purple dress at a concert hall, but the sight of her in a loose t-shirt and shorts smiling at the Hello Kitty keyboard that had been graciously donated to Kaede by Miu (who had found it while searching for parts at a dump) ranked at a close second.

Kaede’s fingers hit the keys, and Maki almost forgot they were in a room full of old stuffed animals and odd souvenirs. Chords and notes filled the room with sunflower fields and summer days; old memories combining with new. Maki could hear a familiar melody, but she couldn’t quite place where she had heard it and what it was. It didn’t sound like anything a stuffy composer in a dark room had ever come up with. Almost as soon as Kaede had started playing, she stopped. Much more time must have passed in between, but Maki registered none of it.

“Did you recognize that?” Kaede said, beaming up at Maki. Was she supposed to know what song she was playing? Shit. 

“I’m afraid I didn’t.” Maki said, mentally kicking herself in the foot. Couldn’t she have spent a little more time focusing on it instead of admiring how Kaede’s face looked from that angle?

“I figured you would have been able to guess. Don’t’cha remember Hey There Delilah?” Kaede said, brushing a strand of her hair out of her eyes.

Oh. Figures that Maki didn’t know it. She had never really listened to the radio when she was a kid, and she had never felt an urge to catch up on what she missed. 

“Sorry, didn’t have much of a childhood.” Maki paused. “But I would be more than happy to have you educate me on the classics that I clearly missed out on.” 

Kaede’s eyes lit up. She loved music, and Maki knew it.

“Are you sure? Because Professor Akamatsu’s got a lot of material to cover, and there will be a final exam.” Kaede said teasingly, already rooting through her dresser to find her old MP3 player from 2011. Maki liked seeing Kaede happy. They could just have a final day together until Kaede left. And that was all Maki needed for now.


End file.
